Edgar Allan Poe

Tales . Edgar Allan Poe

This volume was first published in 1845. Based on the earliest known advertisements, the probable date of issue is June 25, 1845. (It is advertised in the New York Daily Tribune for June 20 as "TALES BY EDGAR A. POE: Will appear on WEDNESDAY NEXT." A fuller advertisement appears in the Daily Tribune for June 26, clearly indicating that it is actually available, as projected.) The number of copies printed is uncertain, although it must be at least 1,500. (On November 13, 1845, Poe wrote to E. A. Duyckinck that, apparently from a report by the publisher, "1500 of the Tales have been sold." When Poe is bragging about circulation numbers to friends, his information is generally not reliable, but here he is negotiating money with someone who can easily verify the numbers with the publisher, and is thus probably accurate.) Wiley and Putnam also published Poe's The Raven and Other Poems, 1845. The volume of Tales was re-issued in 1849, with a new title page. According to T. O. Mabbott, this re-issue was made to clear out the remainder of the book.